CARSON Yeung is set to buy a significant shareholding in Blues - but NOT take over ownership of the club outright.

CARSON Yeung is set to buy a significant shareholding in Blues - but NOT take over ownership of the club outright.

That is believed to be the upshot of three days of talks with David Sullivan, David Gold and Ralph Gold.

The Hong Kong billionaire is understood to have stopped short of a complete #50 million buyout, which was his original plan.

Instead he is likely to purchase just under half of the shares owned by Sullivan and the Gold brothers, probably for around #15 million - #20 million. It would give Yeung a considerable say in the running of the club, but not total power.

The present board and managing director Karren Brady would remain in place and work with Yeung and his people.

Yeung has spent the last three days in Birmingham and London and held a final round of talks with Gold and Brady at St Andrew's yesterday.

Blues wanted to be absolutely sure that Yeung had the finances at his disposal to take the club forward once he was introduced to them by investment bank Seymour Pierce more than three weeks ago.

And it seems a compromise has been reached, with the possibility that Yeung could eventually buy a controlling interest in the near future.

Sullivan and the Gold brothers have consistently appealed for new investors to join and share the burden with them. And they have stated on numerous occasions that they would gladly stand aside if a sudar daddy could be found.

Yeung's addition to the board could at least provide more financial muscle in the transfer market, while his contacts in the the Far East should open up new commercial opportunities for Blues.

Sullivan and the Gold brothers have just under 78 per cent of Blues shares, split 50-50.

By diluting their individual shareholding it enables Yeung to become Blues single biggest sharesholder, but Sullivan and the Gold would still hold more jointly.

Yeung is believed to have made his fortune initially from gas and electronics. His business portfolio now is varied.

He was keen on buying Sheffield Wednesday and Reading, but on both occasions his interest fizzled out.

A former chairman of Hong Kong Rangers FC until he quit following a series of wrangles, he is said to be a close friend of former England ace Steve McManaman.

Last week he made him a #2.5 million profit in a single trading day after his #4.25 million investment in small-scale clothing firm Grandtop International, with the share price rising by 26 per cent.